A solar cell is any device that directly converts the energy in light into electrical energy through the

process of photovoltaics.

First Generation Solar Cells

Crystalline Silicon Cells

Second Generation Solar Cells

Amorphous Si, GaAs, CdTe, CIS, CIGS Dye-sensitized cells, Organic Cells

Third Generation Solar Cells

 Relatively cheap in production and purification

Materials can be tailored for the demand

ADVANTAGES Can be used on flexible substrate Can be shaped or tinted to suit architectural applications

Do not reach the energy conversion efficiency exceeding 24 % in norganic materials.

DISADVANTAGES

Limited lifetime/ stability

Recently hybrid solar cell (HSC) which is the combination of inorganic and organic materials are widely studied and the efficiency of the device has reached above 5%.

Polymers are the common donors whereas nanoparticles act as common acceptors.

nanoparticles
polymer

Highest efficiency was recorded in the random mixtures of conjugated polymers and inorganic nanoparticles.
Have the potential for further enhancement of electron transport.

Provide continuous pathways for charge transport in the through-film direction.

Maintain solution processability.

Nanoscale structures;

Mesoporous inorganic films infused with electron-donating organic structures, Alternating inorganic-organic lamellar structures, And nanowire structures.

Different inorganic nanowires such GaAs, Si, TiO2, CdS, ZnO and Ag were used in the literature.

Use of nanowire instead of PCBM as an acceptor group Use of nanowire as an additional group

A blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and narrow bandgap GaAs Nanowires is used.

Coating the GaAs nanowires with TiOx shells passivates nanowire surface states and further improves the photovoltaic performance.

Power conversion efficiencies were reported as 2.36%.

Fig 1. Device architecture

Nano Lett. 2011, 11, 408413

Figure 4. Absorption spectra of a P3HT thin film, GaAs nanowires , GaAs20%, and GaAs50% blends.

Figure5. Comparison of EQE data for P3HT hybrid cells with different NW loading.

Well-alignedsingle-crystalline Si nanowires (SiNWs) and poly(3 hexylthiophene):[6,6]-phenyl-C61butyricacidmethylester (P3HT:PCBM) were used as an active layer.

Advantages of such SiNWs

Provide uninterrupted conduction paths for electron transport. Enhance the optical absorption. Increase the surface area for exciton dissociation.
Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 93 (2009) 621624

Figure 6. (a) A schematic of the hybrid solar cell using SiNWs and P3HT:PCBM blend (b)The setup for transferring the SiNWs onto the P3HT:PCBM blend (c) A schematic of the machine with lateral force used to separate the silicon wafer from the P3HT:PCBM blend.

Jsc increases from 7.17 to 11.61 mA/cm2 and PCE increases from 1.21% to 1.91%. Si nanowires can be fabricated at low temperature from solution processing without any vacuum equipment or high-temperature processing

Figure . The current densityvoltage characteristics for the solar cells with and without the SiNWs .

Hybrid Solar Cells have some certain advantages because they combine the unique properties of the inorganic semiconductor nanoparticle with those of the polymeric materials

Combination of the NWs and P3HT:PCBM blend is an attractive route to obtain high Jsc and efficiencies by
improving the optical absorption increasing the dissociation of excitons improving the electron transport